Foley says he needs 2 terms to solve Connecticut’s problems

Business man Tom Foley speaks to supporters at the Villa Rosa Pontelandolfo Club in Waterbury, Connecticut Tuesday evening, August 12, 2011 after defeating Connecticut State GOP Primary against State Senate Minority Leader John McKinney and now will run against Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
(Peter Hvizdak — New Haven Register)

TRUMBULL >> Tom Foley, a day after beating state Sen. John McKinney in the Republican primary to challenge Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in November, said he would need two terms as governor to get the state on track.

“These problems that have been created are so large, it is unlikely that someone can solve them in just four years,” Foley said.

Foley in his victory speech Tuesday night criticized Malloy for having already had four years to fix the state’s problems.

“Dan Malloy had his chance and change is coming,” Foley told the crowd Tuesday night.

“Tom, you have to pay for things and you don’t want to answer a single question. You want to be devoid of specifics,” McKinney said during their last debate before Foley beat him Tuesday in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Foley, in his first press conference after becoming the GOP-endorsed candidate, said the charge was unfair, while McKinney came to his aid.

The senator said Foley’s plan to flat-fund the budget leaves a balanced budget and a slight surplus. “We tried to make a differentiation of a very small point of difference, very large for the purposes of a primary,” McKinney said.

Foley said he will find savings within the budget, particularly in healthcare costs, hoping to cut it 5 percent. “I’m quite confident we can do it,” Foley said, by eliminating waste. This compares with Mc­Kinney’s specifics on where he would cut $1.4 billion to cover contractual expenditures and provide for a tax cut.

McKinney said his one-time rival “has the right message. He has the right background. I think he is the right recipe for what ills Connecticut.”

Foley beat McKinney 44,135 votes to 37,345. The secretary of the state’s office also ruled that Heather Bond Somers won the close three-way contest for lieutenant governor with 27,083 votes to 26,312 for Penny Bacchiochi and 25,026 for David Walker and said a recount was not necessary.

Foley accused Malloy of going across the state “handing out goodies” to everyone and he questioned if he can even keep those bonding promises. Malloy has put a soft $1.8 billion cap on future bonding, but Foley said he would have to study further what he would do.

The Republican contender, who is going after Malloy for the second time, was asked if he welcomed the support of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, which claimed Wednesday that they helped bring about Foley’s win over McKinney.

“Our first step has been to help Senator John McKinney depart from politics as an elected official. We now have a candidate that is far better positioned to beat Malloy at the next level. Mr. Foley did not specifically seek out our help, but it is certainly our obligation to send Governor Malloy back to private life,” Scott Wilson, president of CCDL, said in a release.

Wilson said the Nov. 4 election is about more than the Second Amendment, but “we know with certainty that we can make a big difference.”

Both sides on the gun issue are expected to put bodies and financial resources into getting their viewpoints across as they line up behind Foley or Malloy.

Foley said when you run for governor, “you have to take into consideration everybody’s needs and everybody’s opinions. I am very interested in the challenges that everybody in this state is facing and some of them are very serious challenges and I look forward to solving those problems. I’m interested in everybody’s concerns about the future of Connecticut.”

The candidate was asked if McKinney would be involved in his campaign.

Foley said the senator has offered to help and, with his 15 years of experience in the legislature, “he would have an awful lot to offer.” Whether that involves a formal role is something they have not discussed. He said he hoped McKinney would help him run the state of Connecticut. “It’s going to be difficult,” he said.

On Sunday, however, Foley was calling McKinney an “insider” whose ideas he had rejected.

“Well, I think the leader and the governor need to be an outsider, but that doesn’t mean you are not taking the advice and employing the experience of insiders,” Foley answered Wednesday.

Foley said the race this year is very different from the one in 2010 as Malloy now has a record he has to defend. He said people will have to decide if they want four more years of a “progressive agenda” with costs still rising. He said spending has gone up twice as much as the growth of the economy, which he said is unsustainable.

He said people are feeling the cost-of-living squeeze. “His jobs policy isn’t working,” with people losing high-paying jobs, but now taking lower-paying positions, Foley said.

The Greenwich millionaire businessman was asked why he wanted the job of governor.

“I’m attracted to situations where there are problems that can be solved, particularly if it has a lot of impact on people’s lives,” Foley said.

“I was taught from a very early age that you have an obligation to give back to your community. It is part of what America is all about. I see so many people not being well served by government,” he said. Foley said Malloy’s “tax and spend” policies are damaging the economy with people leaving the state.

As someone coming in new, he can look at the problems with a new perspective.

“I will represent everyday citizens because I understand the pain they are feeling and the disappointment they have with the leadership they have right now,” he said.

Foley said he is in the cities now talking to people about schools, housing, restoring jobs and getting crime rates down. He said Malloy failed to discuss his plans before they were implemented.

It recaps Foley’s appearance at Fusion Paperboard, where he is shown criticizing the workers for trying to “malign management.” It then brings up his ownership of the Bibb Co., which went into bankruptcy under his watch and was then closed by the next owner.

Foley, at his press conference, said he views these as “character attacks. They’re attacks on people’s motives. I think it’s inexcusable. First of all they’re not true. But second of all, why is the governor spending money talking about things like that rather than talking about, engaging in a dialogue about what is the right policy direction for the state?”

He hoped that this time “the citizens will realize that this is an uncivil tone. It is insulting to voters.” He said he will have to respond, but he thinks the public wants to hear positive dialogue.

“I hope he is punished for when he is being uncivil,” Foley said.

McKinney had ads rebutting Foley’s ads, which he said were misleading.

The state is still reviewing petitions by Joe Visconti and Jonathan Pelto as potential third-party candidates in the race. Foley said he didn’t see them affect his campaign. “I’m happy to be in a head-to-head with Governor Malloy,” Foley said. Pelto, in particular, is expected to take votes away from Malloy.